PURPOSE: To teach your dog to walk on a loose leash without pulling.
Walk your dog in what Michael calls the “bubble zone.” Give your dog enough leash so he/she can walk beside you, a little in front of you or a little behind you rather than way out in front of you. When the dog is in the bubble zone, he/she can see you out of the corner of their eye should you decide to turn around and go the other way. Conversely, if the dog is way out in front of you, he/she doesn’t think they are the boss/alpha/pack leader but they are not paying attention to you and therefore won’t notice when you want to turn prior to feeling the leash go taunt. We want to teach your dog to pay more attention to you and to turn with you rather than rely on feeling the leash go taunt or being dragged to come with you.
Walk your dog on a loose leash. When your dog is in the bubble zone, the leash snap should be pointing downward. This will mean there is no tension on the leash. You don’t have to give your dog a lot of leash but their shouldn’t be tension on the leash when the dog is in the bubble zone. Conversely, if you always walk your dog on a tight leash, your dog doesn’t learn to walk on a loose leash and you will be forever trying to control your dog. Teach your dog to control themselves.
Walk your dog on the side of you that you prefer to dispense food treats from and hold the leash in the opposite hand. For most right handed walkers, this means placing the dog on your right side, dispensing food treats from your right hand, and holding the leash in your left hand. Your right hand can also grip the leash that comes across your body if you need more control. Otherwise, let the food hand train your dog to walk beside you. Left handers would do the opposite (dog on left, treats in left hand and leash held by right hand).
Note, if you try to feed from the opposite hand across your body (e.g. for a right hander, dog on left side, leash in left hand and food in right hand), your dog will either learn to walk across your body to get the treat from your right hand or you will be off balance twisting your body toward your dog to dispense the food treat. This rotation is uncomfortable, places you off balance and tends to make the dog walk further behind you as they often times guide off your shoulder closest to them.
Hold the leash by placing the leash over your thumb and gripping the handle of the leash. Then fold excess part of the leash into the palm of your hand. Do not wrap the leash around your wrist.
If your dog pulls a lot, try these things:
A) Use an Easy Walk Harness (the leash will attach to the chest strap and not the back strap),
B) If you don’t have an EW Harness, place the length of the leash under your dog’s front leg nearest you so that it slightly pulls his/her head downward (EW harness is much preferred though as it will typically reduce the pulling by about 75% without training),
C) Thread the leash from the dog’s collar around your back to be held by the opposite hand (the dog would have to pull your whole body and will be unable to do so if you bend your knees slightly while walking),
D) Use a head halter or Gentle Leader (last resort option as it takes time to get the dog acclimated to the head halter), and
E) Train your dog to walk on a loose leash by doing the following exercises:
1) Stop and Go (if your dog is out in front of you pulling and cannot see you, simply stop your forward movement until your dog stops pulling. When your dog creates slack in the leash, reward with a treat and/or continue your walk as the reward.)
2) Turn and Go (when your dog is close enough to you that he/she can see you out of the corner of their eye, it is fair to turn away from your dog and encourage him/her to catch up. Do not wait for your dog, simply turn and begin walking the opposite direction. When your dog catches up with you, verbally praise/pet your dog and/or offer a treat reward.)
3) Turn into Your Dog (when your dog is beside you, gently pull back on the leash to allow yourself to be able to turn in front of your dog and walk in the opposite direction. Offer praise and/or a treat for your dog turning with you. As your dog learns that you often turn into him/her, they will tend to not pull so much and hang further back in the bubble during the walk).